Swiss Biotech Report 2020: 1.2 billion for Swiss biotech companies

- In 2019, 1.2 billion Swiss Francs were invested in private and public biotech companies
- Gene therapy, artificial intelligence, and the production of advanced biologics developed into complementary strengths
- Licensing agreements and collaborations increased revenue
- The Swiss biotech ecosystem has become even more diverse

Embedded in one of the world's most comprehensive life sciences ecosystems, Swiss biotechnology continued to thrive last year. This is shown by the Swiss Biotech Report 2020, published today by the Swiss Biotech Association in collaboration with EY and seven other partners. The report provides highlights and financial analyses, examines mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations, and focuses on the growing role of artificial intelligence.

The industry's conditions remain excellent, and its prospects are promising: research was innovative, over 40 startups were founded, funding rounds were successful, the pharmaceutical industry invested heavily in production capacities for cell therapies and biologics, and Switzerland remains attractive for young talent.

The key results of the Swiss Biotech Report 2020

Swiss biotech companies raised a total of 1.2 billion Swiss Francs in 2019, with the sum almost evenly split between public and private companies. CRISPR Therapeutics AG led the public companies with 436 million Swiss Francs. Other public companies that accessed fresh capital included AC Immune, ObsEva, Auris Medical, and Biocartis. Among private companies, the largest financings went to ADC Therapeutics with 101 million Swiss Francs and Sophia Genetics with 76 million Swiss Francs.

The Swiss biotech industry generated a total revenue of 4.8 billion Swiss Francs in 2019, an increase of 800 million compared to the previous year. This revenue growth is mainly due to lucrative cooperation and licensing agreements for AC Immune, Basilea, and CRISPR, as well as higher earnings from biotech firms already marketing products and services.

Thanks to new specialized funds based in Switzerland, the ecosystem has further strengthened its position as an attractive financing field. Examples include Medicxi, ND Capital, Pureos Bioventures, and Bernina BioInvest. At the same time, the number of foreign funds continued to grow. Ultimately, the transactions of Amal, Novimmune, and Therachon show that M&A activities were also very high, which is generally seen as an indicator of maturity and attractiveness of the sector.

Multinational biopharma companies such as Biogen, CSL Behring, Novartis, and Merck invested heavily in expanding production capacities for the increasing number of approved complex biologics and cell therapies. Furthermore, companies like SOPHiA Genetics, BC Platforms, Genedata, Insphero, GenomSys, and SimplicityBIO increasingly harness the potential of artificial intelligence. This has allowed the industry to develop new strengths that it can rely on in the future.

«The Swiss Biotech Report 2020 shows that Switzerland has a comprehensive life sciences ecosystem that covers the entire spectrum from research to production. This is an important prerequisite for the successful future of Swiss biotech companies. The fact that the local life sciences industry has become so important for the Swiss economy and also holds a significant position worldwide is evidenced by the fact that it accounts for 40 percent of all Swiss exports. Moreover, the report shows that this industry is not standing still: it is growing in new areas and recording an increasing number of international collaborations and investments,» comments Michael Altorfer, CEO of the Swiss Biotech Association.

«Like the global biotechnology industry, Swiss biotechnology also performed well again in 2019, regardless of the macroeconomic and external environment. It proved resilient against rising geopolitical, trade policy, and tariff challenges: funding remained good, revenues increased, and M&A activities continued. The only thing missing was stock market listings. This can mainly be explained by companies simply choosing other financing routes,» says Jürg Zürcher, Partner and Biotechnology Leader Germany, Switzerland, Austria at EY in Switzerland.

Nominees for the Swiss Biotech Success Story Awards

The Swiss Biotech Association awards companies or individuals each year for outstanding achievements. The winners for 2020 are Actelion, Debiopharm, Helsinn, Venture Kick, >>Venture>>, Venturelab, and Nobel laureate Professor Werner Arber. Nominations for the Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards 2021 include Bachem, Basilea, Esbatech, Lonza, and Novimmune.

About the Swiss Biotech Report 2020

The Swiss Biotech Report 2020 highlights the key trends, innovation factors, and sources of innovation, and reports on topics and facts regarding the development of the Swiss biotech industry. This year's focus areas are biotechnology, big data, and artificial intelligence. The report is available digitally at swissbiotech.org/report.